Life in the Fast Lane

Welcome back!

What more does one need of evidence that we are not alone in this Universe when it not only hits us in the face, but official aircraft flying our own native skies? Stunned police gave chase to a UFO over Cardiff after it nearly collided with their helicopter in the Vale of Glamorgan, and earlier this month a leaked report has revealed a mid-air collision with a fighter jet over central Europe.

Photo BBC

As the chopper was returning to the Ministry of Defence military base of St. Athan near Cardiff where it is stationed and close to Cardiff International Airport, the unidentified aircraft headed directly at the helicopter as the 3-man police crew were preparing to land.

The pilot banked sharply to avoid being struck, then launched into a high-speed pursuit getting as far as the North Devon coast, but was forced to end the chase as their fuel ran low — and the UFO made its escape.

Photo The Sun

All 3 crew described the object as “flying saucer-shaped” circled by flashing lights.

The helicopter was at about 500 feet (152 meters) waiting to land when the crew saw the UFO speeding towards them from below.

“It closed in at great speed, aiming straight at the helicopter.” said a source.

“The chopper had to swerve sharply to avoid being hit. The guys said if they’d stayed where they were, they’d be dead — it would’ve been a direct hit.”

“They are convinced it was a UFO. It sounds far-fetched, but they know what they saw.”

“These guys are hardened professionals and know people will take the mickey, but they are certain they saw a UFO.”

“After the near-collision they decided to follow it to find out what the hell it was. They belted across the Bristol Channel in pursuit, but it was too quick. They got to the North Devon coast and had to turn back because they were running low on fuel.”

The crew was unable to capture any images before the object vanished over the Bristol Channel despite the chopper being loaded with hi-tech cameras and surveillance gear.

Oddly, the crew could not see the craft with night-vision goggles — but all said it was “clearly visible” to the naked eye on the night of June 7 2008.

A conflicting report from the BBC states that South Wales Police said the chopper did not give chase.

The 3-man crew reported the incident to senior officers, who passed on the report to Britain’s UFO investigators.

Photo The Sun

“We can confirm the Air Support Unit sighted an unusual aircraft. This was reported to the relevant authorities for their investigation.” said South Wales Police last night.

The Ministry of Defence which usually investigates UFO sightings said, “We’ve heard nothing about this. But it is certainly not advisable for police helicopters to go chasing what they think are UFOs.”

“The crew are very experienced and responded in a professional manner in relation to what they saw.” a police spokesperson said.

“In today’s skies, there are a wide variety of aircrafts which come in a range of different shapes and sizes and in all probability, this sighting has just confirmed that one of these was in the area at the relevant time.”

Retired George Withrington of St. Mellons says he also saw something “peculiar with lots of flashing lights” on the same day. He reported the sighting to police and was given an incident number.

The ex-RAF glider pilot said he was sitting in his garden reading a book when he spotted the object at around 16:20 hours.

“I was looking at an airplane overhead when I spotted this thing was in the corner of my eye. It shifted direction very quickly, in the blink of an eye.”

“I looked at it for quite a while; I was watching it for at least 10 minutes. It flew off towards the east, towards Newport.”

Author Richard Foxhall from the Nantlle Valley, Gwynedd, has written a book about his experience of seeing a UFO in 1996.

Picture based on Richard Foxhall’s sketch for his book. Photo BBC

Foxhall has called for the report into the Vale of Glamorgan sighting to be made open to the public.

“The helicopter crew, who are experienced, saw something which was in the air space around Cardiff International Airport and St Athan’s air base. If this was Heathrow there would be an inquiry.” he added.

Foxhall also said he saw a low-flying object over Tal-y-Mignedd in Snowdonia over the May bank holiday weekend, 12 years ago. He was returning home at around 20:30 BST and saw an object similar to “nothing he had seen before.”

He contacted all local airports, RAF Valley and checked with the authorities and found no flight records had been logged.

UFO Hits Fighter Jet
Defense chiefs are investigating claims that a Romanian MIG 21 Lancer fighter plane was struck by ’strange objects’ after it had a mid-air collision with a UFO over central Europe on October 30, 2007, shattering the cockpit, according to the official report.

Mock-up of the jet fighter and UFO collision. Image The Sun

The Romanian Military went on national TV to report that at an altitude of 6,300 meters/ 3.91464 miles and a speed of 500 mph (800 km/h) their airplane was hit by an object.

All assumptions that could provide a scientific explanation of chance were cancelled. Romanian Defense Ministry officials have ruled out all normal types of collision such as birdstrikes, ice or small meteorites. Rocket launches and ground artillery shots were also ruled out as possible explanations for the incident.

Birds don’t to fly at the height of 20,700 feet (6,300 meters), and the body of the plane didn’t have any trace of organic matter. The sky was clear with no conditions for water to freeze. Astronomical data confirms no entry of bodies such as meteorites were in the air that day.

There were no civilian flights at any hour that at about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Gherla where the fighter jet was, no exercises with artillery cannons or missiles, no incidents reported to police on missile launching craft and no weapon had been launched or weather balloons.

The National Institute of Criminalistica stated that the hardness of the object that struck the aircraft was greater than the organic glass that was hit.

The object that struck the plane had a motion of rotating around its own axe, with a trajectory towards the aircraft, but rejected the assumption that the analysis had been talking about a projectile.

“We can definitely say what this thing was not, but we cannot say what it was.” Chief investigator Commander Nicolae Grigorie said.

The impact on a training flight above Transylvania took merely 67 milliseconds.

Security and onboard instruments including an on-board camera captured 4 UFO’s which could not be made out on video due to the speed and the impact.

The Pilot announced that he and 1 other airplane were doing a routine exercise about 4 miles (6 kilometers) away from Gherla, Romania when this object along with 4 others — only 1 hit the plane — came from under the clouds and hit his airplane. He was forced to abort mission and land immediately due to his wing and cabin damage.

Although the risk of crash seemed imminent when pilot Marin Mitrica was slightly injured, he managed to return safely to base unit Campia Turzii to land the plane.

Baffled defense chiefs have now passed the UFO incident on to the Security Committee of European Air Forces for investigation.

A similar incident happened in the United States in 1948 when Captain Mantell, of the Kentucky Air National Guard was sent to intercept a UFO that was in U.S. airspace, and was shot down by the UFO.

The Romanian military released a video captured by the plane’s in-flight camera as it was flying above Transylvania the night of October 30th.

UFO Hits Romanian Fighter Jet

Man-made UFO’s and Wacky Flying Devices
A Chinese company has developed a remotely controlled flying saucer driven by a propeller that can hover up to about 3,000 feet (900 meters) and travel up to 50 mph (80 kilometers).

Photo AFP

The aircraft is 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter and able to take off and land vertically.

The company says that the saucer — which took 12 years and more than $4 million US to develop — could be used for aerial photography and geological surveys.

Photo Moller International

California-based company Moller International has been designing personal flying vehicles for years. In 1989, the company created the Moller Skycar M200X, which can hover about 10 feet (3 meters) in the air.

The Moller Skycar is a prototype of a flying car invented by Paul Moller, designed so that the driver just needs to enter direction and speed without any previous piloting knowledge required.

Photo Moller International

Henry Lahore–Project leader of Skycar study undertaken by Boeing Aircraft Company wrote:
“With the developing airspace infrastructure in place, the Skycar will become a widely used unpiloted air-taxi. This is the only known commuter vehicle that can move large numbers of people very quickly and safely and still let them conveniently choose their departure point, departure time and destination.”

MSNBC Live Vote Survey- Internet wrote:
“Will you be in the market for a volantor?” Out of 6226 responses: Yes as soon as possible 23%; Yes after the price comes down 47%; Yes after it’s proven safe 23%; No never 7%.

Investor’s Business Daily Special Report wrote:
“Moller’s car might one day fulfill the prophecy of the world depicted in cartoons like the Jetsons in which the breadwinner commutes to work in a flying car.”

Inc. Magazine wrote:
“This is Rocket Science! The engine was the key Moller knew, in combining straight up flight with the speed and simplicity of a light plane.”

Photo Moller International

Moller Skycar M200X is a 2-passenger Flying-saucer-style aircraft that can hover 10 feet above the ground. The M200X flew for the first time in 1989 and runs on a mixture of 70% (bio)ethanol and 30% water.

The newest version of the Skycar is expected to be available in the next 3 years, according to the company’s Web site.

Earlier this year, the world witnessed a Japanese man blast off in Italy in a homemade, 1-man “flying chair” in a tribute to another great visionary: Leonardo da Vinci.

Trek Aerospace’s Springtail Exoskeleton Flying Vehicle EFV-4A is a single engine powered-lift research vehicle that supports the operator / pilot in a standing position.

Photo Trek Aerospace

Two sets of ducts about 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter are mounted on the upper end of the airframe above the operator, each with a fan of 5 blades which produce thrust in the vertical direction. The fans are counter-rotating, eliminating the torque that is normally associated with a single rotor. The ducts and fans both tilt individually.

Vanes mounted in the ducts are used for directional control. The power plant for the aircraft is mounted on the airframe to the rear of the operator. The vehicle is operated by an advanced fly-by-wire computer control system.

The Springtail is being employed as a test bed for further enhancements and refinements to the technology.

Sources: BBC, Metro, The Sun, HBCC Research, ABC, and Wikinews

Tags:aerospace aircraft bizarre chopper fighter jet helicopter jet odd paranormal personal flying vehicles plane Skycar Springtail UFO UFOs unusual

Related Stories from the Past

• Worlds First Flying Skycar Takes Off from London to Timbuktu
• Ancient Art of Firewalking Secrets Revealed
• Worlds Largest Sand Carpet and Intriguing Sand Art
• Worlds Weirdest and Most Bizarre Perfumes
• Bizarre Fish Head Art Turns Heads on Humanity
• Playing with Food – Vegetables Transformed into Art Masterpieces
• When Tattoos and Art Go to the Hogs – Pig Tattooing
• Sardine Run Shark Feeding Frenzy Phenomenon in Africa
• Worlds Most Bizarre and Intriguing Bus Stops
• Chocolate Superheroes in Edible Costumes at Chocolate Fest